Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Desert Islands & Deserted Beaches



11/19 - 29/06 - We have anchorerd near several desert islands in Bahia Concepcion and since leaving on Nov. 21 have these observations: they attract birds, which leave behind something that attracts bugs; they are usually surrounded by dangerous reefs; they can be great for snorkeling, clamming, and scallop hunting; and getting used to your dive gear again.

Anchor spots:

  • San Sebastian - we reached this tight anchorage with reefs left and right, at the end of a long day of no wind on the lowest low tide of the month. Of course, the wind came up that night and along with the poudning surf close by and the vision of a beached catamaran sporting a hole in the side, made for an uneasy night. A few days later we learned the cat was recently damaged by the reefs we thankfully avoided.
  • San Juanico - a little bit of paradise. We spent Thanksgiving here along with 4 other boats. Dawn and Terry aboard the trimaran "Manta" hosted a Thanksgiving potluck: turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, macaroni salad, asparagus, apricot cobbler and leftover cherry cheesecake. We didn't expect this and it was a real treat. Dawn and Terry are big divers and had some interesting stories, including a shark tale or two.
  • Copper Bay (Isla Carmen) - A beautiful deserted beach with colorful pebbles on the beach and imbedded in the sandstone cliffs. That and the freshly caught tuna, and the classical Christmas music on XM radio made this a happy memory, although we spent a sleepless night due to a rolly sea.